A WORD FOR TODAY 19 APRIL 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY 19 APRIL 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

IN HIS MERCY WE ARE SAVED

"Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing. Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28)

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter and it is also known as the Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate God's mercy which He has shown to us through His Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, who from the moment of His incarnation to the point of His death and resurrection, we could confidently call moments of mercy. God was showing us mercy through His Son.

In the first reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles we read about the life of the apostles after the resurrection. It is simply a record of the characteristics of the early Christian community. Jesus left them an example to follow and they continued in His stead when He was no longer with them. There was unity, they became a family where everyone looks out for everyone and they were bonded like never before and shared things in common in such a way that no one was in lack, making sure that no one goes hungry, and this led to increase and growth in their number and they witnessed about the resurrection with great power because of the new life they lived in Christ.

Celebrating the Eucharist became their rallying point and it gave them strength to carry on. We must as a matter of fact grow our sense and knowledge of the Holy Eucharist and accord its celebration the sacredness and devotion it deserves, because our coming together to celebrate it should bind us together and not divide us.

One of the attributes of God is Mercy. God is merciful and He does not desire that a sinner should die in his or her sin, but that we should repent and come back to life. Infact, the Scripture says., " If you O Lord should mark our guilt, Lord would survive" (Psalm 130:3). And in Matthew 5:7 it says, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." In His mercy the Father sent His Son to come and die for sinful humanity and in His mercy Jesus redeemed us and reconciled us with the Father. Therefore, mercy which cannot be shown without love is at the root of everything we have experienced from God as His children here on earth.

The gospel reading presents us with a wonderful message of God's mercy. Jesus visited His disciples and the first gift He gave to them was peace. This was to calm their fears and anxiety. In this time of the pandemic of covid 19 that is ravaging our world we need to hear the voice of Jesus tell us as He told His disciples, Peace be with you. The world needs this peace and unless He gives it to us we will be in turmoil.

He showed them the mark on his hands and feet as a proof of his resurrection. The wounds on his body are wounds of identity, wounds of love and mercy, wounds of sacrifice and wounds of healing (Isaiah 53:5). He gave the Church the power to forgive sins and by extension, the power to show mercy as He has shown us mercy. We must go out and witness for Christ's mercy in the world. He has sent us with a message and the authority to back our message and we must take this message to the utmost part of the earth. It is the message of love and mercy and we must become instruments of mercy in the world as we have been saved by mercy. Thomas was not there when Jesus came, but in His love and mercy He came back and made him experience what the others experienced. He withdrew from the gathering of the disciples and it came at a cost, however, he was a very honest man who refused to say that he understood what he did not understand.

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday remembering saint Faustina Kowalska whom the Lord gave the message of mercy to spread to the whole world. This message is that God loves us inspite of our sins and He wants us to trust in Him so that we can find mercy, repent of our sins and share mercy also. The ABC's of Mercy is that we must Ask of His mercy, we must Be merciful and we must completely trust in Him. We are encouraged to always perform the corporal works of mercy which include: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, comfort the imprisoned, visit the sick, and bury the dead. And spiritual works of mercy which include: to Admonish sinners, instruct the uninformed, counsel the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, Be patient with those in error, forgive offenses, pray for the living and dead. We are to be the face of Jesus' mercy in the world by helping the poor and the needy.

We have been saved By His mercy and we must go out to show His mercy to the world so that others will come to be saved by His mercy too. We may suffer for His sake, but through our suffering we shall find mercy for ourselves and for others. As saint John Paul the Second said, " If Jesus had come down from the cross, I, too would have resigned. Since He remained on the cross and suffered, I, too am holding on to my responsibility and am suffering."

Good morning dearest one. SmileðŸ˜Šas you begin your day and do have a merciful Sunday. May God's mercy for you, move you to be merciful to others. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.